EVENTS

Who apologizes to whom for what

MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry offered a tearful and passionate apology to the Romneys on Saturday for remarks she and her panelists made about the family’s adopted black grandchild.

In a segment last week, Harris-Perry joked about the grandson while one panelist, actress Pia Glenn, sang “one of these things is not like the other” and comedian Dean Obeidallah sought to draw a parallel to the Republican Party’s problems with diversity. The remarks drew heavy criticism from high-profile conservatives like Sarah Palin and Scott Brown.

Comments

If your question is did Rush Limbaugh do a thing, and the thing in question was arguably decent, then the answer is almost certainly no. Rush Limbaugh is a poor role model for any sort of behavior.

No doubt some — perhaps even much — of the response to Harris-Perry is partisan. So is much “x said Y! Outrageous!” no matter who x is.

I thought Harris-Perry’s on-air apology was good. I appreciated it. I thought that the segment was low and contemptible. There are complex discussions to be had about trans-racial adoption, and as an adoptive father of kids of a different ethnicity, I encourage people to have them. But despite how some of her defenders try to retcon this, Harris-Perry was not trying to start a dialogue about race. She presided over mockery of a family’s racial composition because she disagrees with its politics. That’s repulsive. I can, and will, call it repulsive without supporting Rush Limbaugh, who is professionally repulsive.

He did, but it was a very half-assed apology about his choice of words, i.e. it’s ok that I speculated about her sex life and used that to denigrate her opinions, I just shouldn’t have used the word “slut.”

For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke.
I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political times, we are discussing personal sexual recreational activities before members of Congress. I personally do not agree that American citizens should pay for these social activities. What happened to personal responsibility and accountability? Where do we draw the line? If this is accepted as the norm, what will follow? Will we be debating if taxpayers should pay for new sneakers for all students that are interested in running to keep fit? In my monologue, I posited that it is not our business whatsoever to know what is going on in anyone’s bedroom nor do I think it is a topic that should reach a Presidential level.

My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir. I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.